SOFTBALL: Update From Spring Trip
Feb. 29, 2008
The Alma College Softball team evened its record to 4-4 on Friday by winning three of the last four games in Ft Myers, Fl. On Thursday Alma swept Johnson and Wales University 17-0 and Mercyhurst College 5-0. Katie Koechling pitched a no-hitter against Johnson and Wales, striking out ten of the fifteen hitters she faced and picking up her second win of the season. The offense pounded out 14 hits in the game including a homerun by Houston Verbeck (Flushing). Other key hitters included three hits by Missy Morcom (Chelsea), and Kasey Miller (Grand Ledge) and two hits by Kelsey Rightenburg (Croswell). The Scots scored four times in the first inning, five in the second, two in the third and exploded for seven in the fourth to round out the win.
Freshman Tara Leddy (Saginaw) picked up her first career win in the second game against Mercyhurst College. Leddy struck out five and gave up five hits in the shutout. Alma scored first in the third inning with a leadoff single by Morcom. Miller advanced her to second and Amy Gaudard (Mt. Pleasant) drilled a double to right field to put the Scots on the board. Britany Fales (Midland) followed two batters later with a single to center to plate pinch runner Katie Gruber(Webberville). Alma scored three more insurance runs in the fifth with two singles by Gaudard and Verbeck along with a walk to Fales loading the bases. Sarah Johnson(Portland) followed with a bases clearing double to right field to close out the scoring. Mercyhurst kicked up their heels in the seventh by loading the bases with two outs but Leddy retired the final hitter on a ground ball to secure the win.
On Friday Alma split a double header with Concordia University-St. Paul loosing the first game 12-0 and winning the night cap 1-0. In the opener Junior Jamie Christian (Armada) took the loss going the first five inning and Fales pitched the final two frames. The Scots offense never found its groove and could only muster three hits.
In the second game Morcom led off the bottom of the first with her first homerun of the year and the Scots held on for the 1-0 victory. In a game of two good pitchers, defense was the key as Leddy pitched a masterful game limiting Concordia to two hits and had eight strikeouts. Concordia only managed to get a runner to second base in two innings. In the seventh inning Concordia made it exciting when the leadoff hitter reaching base with a single. The next hitter sacrifice bunted to Leddy and the leadoff runner attempted to race all the way to third base. Miller, who had just received the ball from Leddy for the first out, threw a strike to Fales covering third to tag the runner to complete the double play and end Concordia’s threat.
Alma continues with two more games on Saturday with a 9am rematch with Johnson and Wales and a 11 am game with New York Institute of Technology.
Posted: Fri, February 29th, 2008 at 11:14PM
